Lions and Tigers and Wargs oh my!
by Cobalt-Goddess
Summary: Quite possibly the FIRST serious LotR/ Wizzard of OZ crossover.Extended Edition with a lengthened Green Dragon scene!! Set in the ring war/ post-OZ. PG-13 for upcoming big Grima lurve.
1. The ill tides of pancakes

A/N: I'm working on this story until my muse inspires me to continue with Look up at the Stars. It WILL be completed, just might take a while. Gaslight: If you read this, go check out my Grima Girlies page (under construction) and give me your opininon so far ,URL is in my profile.  
  
  
  
Lions and Tigers and Wargs (oh my) A valiant attempt at serious crossover By Cobalt_Goddess  
  
It was hot. Dorothy had a feeling it would be an awful day the moment she woke up. The morning sky was dusky red, and there were black clouds on the horizon, a bad omen for a farming community. Dorothy dressed slowly, not looking forward to either her chores, or the nearby nimbus clouds that she could now hear thundering in the distance.  
  
Dorothy's Aunt Em was in the kitchen, making griddle cakes, Dorothy's favorite, which didn't exactly cheer her up, because since nobody else liked griddle cakes, it meant that there were extra chores or other ill news that she had yet to be informed on. Nevertheless, she sat down to drown her depression in molasses and doughy goodness. Best to take advantage of a poor situation, Uncle Henry always said.  
  
"Dear," Aunt Em called after Dorothy as she quickly ate and ran out the door. "I'll need your help with the milking today, your Uncle Henry sprained his ankle this morning!" Great, Dorothy mused to herself as she picked up the milking pail, the one chore that, not only takes all morning, but I'm also horrible at, and it's mine ALL mine.  
  
About 20 minutes and four udderfuls of milk in the eye later, Dorothy heard a sound she dreaded, a bicycle bell. She ran quickly out of the barn and to the front of the house, just as their neighbor rode into the yard.  
  
"I want your dog Dorothy!", the hateful woman yelled. " He bit me yesterday ! I want him destroyed! Dead! Now GIVE HIM TO ME!" As if on cue, Dorothy's dog, Toto, came trotting out of the house, his tail wagging furiously in anticipation of the extra Pancake hanging from his mouth, oblivious to the evil woman who wanted him skinned and stuffed.  
  
She, like a vulture, swooped down and grasped poor Toto by the scruff of the neck. She turned Toto to look at her and ,her face close, smiled at him "You'll make a lovely handbag, my pretty" she cackled. And Toto chomped down on her beaklike nose as hard as he could  
  
As the evil bag dropped Toto, Dorothy grabbed him and ran as hard as she could, towards the river.  
  
As soon as she knew she had lost the cow, Dorothy sat down on the shore. The river, barely even deep enough for a rowboat, was cool and refreshing washing softly against her tired ,chafed bare feet. Toto drank deeply from it, then ran a short distance downstream to harass a small group of tadpoles that didn't care for canines very much. She lay there for hours it seemed, lost in her thoughts and fears of what would happen upon her return. One by one, her face was dotted by delicate droplets of rain, the angle of her head on the river bank making the water seem like tears. She slept.  
  
She was in a palace, at a ball, her gown's glittering crystal accents scattering firelit rainbows across the ivory silk of her skirt. Across the room stood a man ,tall and dark, seemingly the only person in a room full of laughing people. Did he look at me? Dorothy hoped, her heart thumping in her chest. As if to answer her prayers, the man began to approach her, his blue eyes bespeaking his desire, his dark cloak fluttering with the movements of his body. As he reached her ,she shied away, but carefully, gently, he caressed her cheek and coaxed her to look upon him. He bent then ,slowly, and took her willing lips into a passionate kiss, the fire of his need burning her soul. The musicians were beginning to play, and the man whisked her out onto the floor to dance before she could even open her passion-closed eyes. As they spun around the dance floor, Dorothy realized she'd never felt so alive, so loved, and she didn't ever want it to stop. The musicians seemed to be playing just for her, the violins sang, the flute lilted ,the horns trumpeted.the horns....horns..  
  
Dorothy woke up, the horns still loudly blaring in her ears. They were the Tornado sirens, and she was miles from home. 


	2. I've seen Shire and I've seen Rain

Lions and Tigers and Wargs (oh my) By Cobalt_Goddess  
  
Chapter 2: I've seen Shire and I've seen Rain..  
  
A/N: I think I'll make this a BIT funny, but not a parody. Think of it as an AU crossover.  
  
"Oi! Get off you tubby git!"  
  
Sam didn't like the floor. It was, in his opinion, far too hard a thing to fall against, especially when drunk, which he was. Pippin had tried to get down from the makeshift stage they'd made from two tables to help Sam up, but had instead tripped and landed on top of him.  
  
"Sorry Sam, don't get tetchy," Pippin cajoled as he got up warily. "Blame Merry, he pushed me."  
  
"Didn't!" shouted Merry from across the room. "It was Frodo!"  
  
Sam raised himself up carefully, so as not to meet the floor once again, twice in one night was plenty. Frodo was to his right at the bar, laughing so hard he was doubled over.  
  
"That," Frodo giggled,"Is why I stay sober around you three!"  
  
"Yeah, real funny when it's not your bum on the ground," grumped Sam. He tried his best to be angry, but he couldn't fight the sight of Frodo's hysterics, and began laughing at himself as well. Pippin climbed back on top of the table and, suppressing giggles, began to sing: There was a gent, Sam was his name, When he weren't drinkin' he was quite sane, Then one night he saw a lass, Fell off of the table and on his ass! Raucous laughter erupted from everyone but Sam as Pippin bowed, lost his footing, and fell. Then Sam laughed.  
  
"Come on you three," announced Rosie Cotton in a motherly tone."You've had quite enough for one night, and it's beginning to rain. Frodo, can you see that they get home without falling over themselves or drowning in a puddle?" Frodo readily agreed, and helped his three drunk companions out the door.  
  
"You know, I quite fancy Rosie," Sam began slurredly as they stumbled toward Bagshot Row in the rain, Merry and Pippin trudging along several feet behind." I'm gonna ask her on a hayride tomorrow, I am.."  
  
Frodo just smiled and remained silent. He wished Sam would do just that, but he was far to timid when he was sober, he'd never have the guts to open up to Rosie, not without a good strong ale. They reached Sam's house, and Frodo helped his friends inside where they all promptly flopped onto a large padded bench. Frodo went to the kitchen, where Sam's Gaffer was still up, a worried expression crossing his face. "Hello Gaffer, what troubles you?" Frodo asked kindly. As he settled into the chair next to him. In the main room, Pip had begun to snore rather loudly between Merry and Sam. "Frodo lad, good to see you!" The Gaffer responded, as though he'd just realized they were there. "You'd best get home laddy, this 'taint a simple rain, it's a storm brewin' and I wouldn't have you out in it!." The look on Gaffer Gamgee's face shook Frodo, he seemed.scared, They woke up Pip, said their farewells, and after the customary drunken embrace from Sam, Merry, Pip, and Frodo headed back to Bilbo's, where they were all staying.  
  
Several hours later, despite being exhausted, Frodo couldn't get to sleep. Outside, the rain had become torrential and big storms always worried him. He sat alone in his darkned kitchen, sipping peppermint tea and staring at the fire, lost in thought. "Frodo, you're up early!" Bilbo declared, entering the kitchen. "No," Frodo replied with a start. "I never went to bed, something's been on my mind." "Oh, what's that then, my boy?" Frodo sighed, looking out of the window into the downpour. "I just, That is the storm, storms, well, you know." he trailed off. "Yes my lad, I know." Bilbo walked over and embraced Frodo affectionately. "We all have our fears, my boy, and when the time is right, you'll conquer yours." They sat together for a long time, just watching the rain. "Well, Bilbo, I think I'll be okay now." Frodo smiled. "I'll go onto bed." Bilbo was looking out of the window again, his face gone white. Frodo was going to ask why when he realized that something was wrong.  
  
Everything had gone quiet.  
  
The Gaffer noticed it too, in fact, he'd been up all night keeping watch for it. Immediately he ran to the window, his heart fluttering in his chest. His mind was screaming "please no please no please no" but he knew he could do nothing until he knew for sure. He saw nothing, heard nothing, save for his own heavy breathing.  
  
Frodo and Bilbo saw nothing from their own window, but unlike his elders, Frodo knew not why it the storm had gone silent.  
  
Then they all heard it. A slow rumbling sound, barely a murmur.  
  
"A Cyclone!" The Gaffer yelled, waking Sam and dragging him along, as he ran out into the square." Get up! A cyclone is coming!" Quickly, he struck the meeting bell as loudly as he could manage, attempting to wake everyone up.  
  
People began hurriedly rushing from their homes, half-asleep and frightened, their children wailing in confusion. Sam quickly found his way to Bilbo's and threw the door open, waking Merry and Pippin.  
  
"Get up, you lot and make sure everyone's accounted for and in the shelter!" Sam ordered of his hungover shiremates. Merry nodded knowingly and pulled Pippin out into the square. Bilbo and Frodo ran from the kitchen with packs of food and bags of water. They'd prepared for this, a yearly occurrence in the Shire. Frodo was clearly distraught, but it was even clearer that he would help despite his fear, and so Sam and he set about opening all of the heavy access doors to the shelters, which were under Bilbo's house. Within minutes, all of Bag End stood filing into the shelter, Pippin and Merry counting heads as they went. The wind ripped against their hair and tore at their clothes, but the cyclone was still miles away by the time the last hobbit escaped underground. Frodo was at the storm cellar door, his breathing laboured with effort. Merry, knowing well Frodo's fears, placed an arm around his cousin and smiled. "See Frodo? All are safe, doesn't that make you feel better?" "Yes," Frodo returned,"Yes it does Merry."  
  
"Did you see Rosie?" Sam called to Pippin after helping Bilbo pass out blankets and water. "No, I didn't see her!" Pippin cried, terrified because it was his first cyclone. "Sam," Mr. Cotton bellowed, rushing to meet him. "Rosie said she was stayin' at the Bolger's tonight, but Estella says she ain't gone over yet! She must still be at the Green Dragon!"  
  
"Right," Sam said determinedly "I'm going then." "Not alone you're not," Merry, who'd heard it all, announced. Frodo stood behind them both, a coil of rope around his shoulder. Pippin ran to the door and threw it open. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" he shouted. They all looked at him, very surprised, and followed.  
  
Meanwhile, inside the Green Dragon, Rosie woke up. She'd fallen asleep accidentally while taking inventory in the storeroom. She knew the rumbling she heard as she awoke was a bad thing, and she hurredly ran to the exit to get to Frodo's cellar. The wind was blowing so fiercely that Rosie had to forcibly push the door open. She stood in the doorway for a moment, the dust blowing in the air blurring her vision. Then as she started toward the Bagginses, her vision cleared just enough to see it. A tower of black on black, twisted and whipping like a cat's tail, both terrifying and beautiful.  
  
It was too late to run. 


	3. Twister isn't a Game

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Lions and Tigers and Wargs (Oh My!)

By Cobalt Goddess

Chapter three: Twister isn't a Game

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A/N: Thanks for reviewing guys, it'll get better, promise. I'm putting off Look Up at the Stars for a bit, I'm totally lost with it, I think it needs a total rewrite.

Rosie stood transfixed in terror, looking up at the cyclone steadily whipping it's way towards her. _run Run RUN! _Her mind begged her, but her legs just didn't seem to care. She could feel the wind quickening with every second, her body being pushed toward the massive dark funnel.

It was so beautiful.

She fell to her knees, the wind to strong to stand in.

"So this is how I shall die." Rosie thought as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Rosie imagined she could hear the wind screaming at her.

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I'll find you where are you I'll get you.. it yelled.

All she could do was pray for a quick death.

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Rosie Rosie ROSIE!

"Rosie!" Sam shouted as he found her sprawled upon the earth. 

"Pippin, Merry, Frodo! Come help I've found her!"

They all ran toward Sam as he effortlessly threw her limp body over his back, his adrenaline masking the pain of his wrenched shoulder.

Pippin looked about as they all ran, searching for some shelter.

"Look!" He bellowed over the wind. "The lockholes! It's our only hope!"

Running as fast as they could, the four of them made it to the lockholes, only to find them, of course, locked. Cowering inside the recessed doorway, Pippin burst into tears and Merry reached over to his favorite relative in concern.

"Pip," he soothed, holding him protectively, "It'll be okay, we'll be safe here, the doorway is deep…"

Pippin didn't seem at all convinced as he wailed uncontrollably.

"We're going to die!", his hysteria making him double over as the wind pressed them all against the door. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" 

The wind suddenly changed courses and began pulling them, sucking them to their deaths. Merry was the first to be pulled out, flying through the air, his arms flailing like a ragdoll. Then Pippin, still screaming as his body was flung far across the hill and into the adjoining field. Sam held Rosie still, not sure if she was unconscious or dead; Frodo wrapped his rope around the three of them and tethered the end to the large iron knocker set into the door. 

Suction took hold yet again and they were taken off of their feet, the rope holding strong as their bodies ran parallel to the ground. 

Sam and Frodo stared at each other, unable to even cry out in terror, as they both began to feel the knot in the rope slipping.

Pippin smashed violently into the roof of Farmer Maggot's barn, landing with a loud **thump** on a large pile of straw. He looked around stiffly, his leg screaming at him as he attempted to move it. 

"At least I'm inside and safe," he thought as he surveyed his surroundings painfully.

Suddenly, the roof was violently ripped from the barn.

"Oh, bugger."

Merry lay caught in the party tree, his arm twisted in an unnatural direction, blood snaking from a large slash in his shoulder, twisting past his wrist and dripping over his fingertips.

He wasn't moving. 


	4. Who Stopped the Rain

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Lions and Tigers and Wargs (Oh My!)

By: Cobalt Goddess

Chapter Four: Who Stopped the Rain

Dorothy held Toto tightly as they lie inside a hole they'd found underneath a fallen tree by the river.

"It's okay, Toto, it's okay," she comforted, a crack in her voice giving the fear away. She was frozen by it, but not for the reason she'd expected. This was the first tornado she'd experienced since, _that _tornado, and she found herself fearing the worst. She'd told them all about it, and they'd taken her away, they'd locked her away. She'd had to go to that school in Tupelo where everyone had called her "twister girl" and even the teachers humiliated her about the Munchkins. Dorothy had just recently been allowed to come home, and even here, she found no solace from the chants of "freak" and "psycho". But what could she do? She'd never see him again, she had always told herself, but here was an opportunity, a _CHANCE,_ and she was terrified.

She feared that if she tried to go back, she'd find she couldn't.

Toto looked up at Dorothy with a question in his eyes. She smiled at him, Toto always was a very smart dog. Lovingly, she put his collar and leash on, lovingly she stroked him, and lovingly she tethered him to the tree's roots, keeping him inside the hole.

"I'm so sorry Toto," Dorothy cooed to her friend. "You can't come with me, it's too dangerous this time. Someone will find you, and you can live with them, away from Miss Gulch."

Toto cried pitifully as Dorothy ran out of the hole, downstream, and right into the path of the oncoming tornado.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam cradled Rosie as the knot kept unraveling. He could hear Frodo's strangled sobs at his side, and looked over to his dear friend.

"You're my best friend Sam," Frodo sobbed. "I always wished we were brothers. Sam I'm, what I mean is, I love you Sam."

He looked so terrified, and yet that statement of platonic love seemed to give Frodo strength. They smiled at each other, and as the rope finally came undone, they grabbed onto each other and Rosie, to die as brothers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dorothy ran with all of her will up the steep embankment to the top of the hill, where she could see the funnel cloud looming closely. The wind tripped her and she fell face first into the brush, scratching her face and slicing her dress open at the shoulder. Screaming from the pain, she pulled herself up and stood braced against a large tree, resolutely facing the wind. She tried to think positively about seeing him again, but she just couldn't shake the terror of knowing she just might die instead, a thought that surprised her, since she'd thought she was tired of living anyway. 

Suddenly she heard barking, and, having chewed through his bonds, Toto came running towards her, his low lying stance preventing him from being blown away in the torrent. 

"You hard headed mutt," she cooed as she gathered him up. "Something told me you'd be back."

Toto licked Dorothy's face. He didn't plan on dying, but he was determined to not live without her either.

The sirens began their ominous blaring again, and as Dorothy felt her and Toto being sucked into the whirling oblivion, she couldn't help but think of the horns in her dream.

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Merry was only half aware of what was going on as he lie in the party tree, as dear to death as any living Hobbit should be. He couldn't see, nor hear, all he knew was that he was in pain.

And the wind was again quickening.

As the cyclone once more took him up into its blackness, he begged for help.

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Someone, anyone, anywhere, please save me.

*************************************************************

Utter darkness; heat; nausea,

A cold, dim, light; warmth; mild pain,

Nothing.

*************************************************************

Frodo and Sam fell to the ground with a start, having expected to be thrown much further than the thirty or so feet they had been. It was still raining heavily, and Rosie was stirring, but the cyclone itself seemed to have dissipated as quickly as it had come. 

Not having the strength nor the ability to search for their lost companions in the dark, Sam, Frodo, and a now semi- conscious Rosie found their way back to the shelter at Bag End, where they stayed until first light.

Several hours later, Dorothy opened her eyes painfully, Toto's cold nose in her ear awakening her to the sounds of voices below her. Her throat had swollen shut and she was unable to lift her head, so she simply lay there.

"Well look at that, a big person!" a small ruddy faced man announced to his companions, "Bet she was sucked right out of Bree and all!"

"Is it safe?" one of the fellows asked.

"'Course it is, it's a lass after all, and not an Orc by a long mile."

"What about that dog?"

"'taint no trouble, it's a wee thing."

That seemed to ease the small men and the started up the Party Tree to help her out and to safety.

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I'm here, I'm here was all a very sick Dorothy could think 

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The Munchkins will help me.

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Merry opened his eye, shutting it quickly again against the bright, cloudless sky. He tried moving, but was met with excruciating pain instead. He lie there, wondering if he was dead, hoping not, as being eternally in agony wasn't his idea of the perfect afterlife. Suddenly, he heard voices, and he moaned loudly, the only sound he could manage.

The rescuers heard him and ran toward the sound, looking for survivors.

Easily they found him, and as they began lifting him onto a board to safety, Merry listened to them speak to each other.

"Get him to the Ambulance STAT!"

"Petersen I want that IV NOW!"

"Is he a defib?"

"No, his hearts started again."

"We're at Smokey Hill River*, ETA 20 minutes."

"What's the age on this one?"

"I don't know, Pete, looks like about 10 if that."

"Let's go people, don't want this kid to be our first DOA of the year."

Merry felt himself moving, and a cold burning feeling seeping into his left arm, but he didn't care what hey did, they were saving him, and he knew it.

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They must be elves, the elves are saving me. He thought as he drifted into a demerol-induced sleep.

*_Smokey Hill River is really in Kansas, see I DO research LOL._

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	5. Stop the World and let me off

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Liona and Tigers and Wargs (Oh My!)

By: Cobalt Goddess

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A/N: The Kansas setting is circa 1930's, like in the film, and Middle Earth is right before the beginning of Rings. Thanks to DJ Caligula for asking me to clarify. Also, yep, this is AU if Dorothy wasn't already a dead giveaway, well…..now you know ^_^

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Chapter Five: Stop the World and let me off…

"She's wakin' up", Dorothy heard a soft voice mutter. "Stella, go run and get Miss Gamgee!"

Dorothy opened her eyes just as a small girl, clearly this Stella she'd heard of, ran from the room and through a small, circle-shaped door.

"Where am I, where's Toto? Is he okay?" She asked the other girl as she tried to get out of bed, a sharp pain shooting through her spine promptly changing her mind. 

The munchkin lady pulled a chair up beside the bed, and, drawing a curtain about them for privacy, lifted Dorothy's loose linen shift aside to examine her wounds.

"Aye Lass, your pooch is fine," She replied in answer to Dorothy's frantic questioning. "If it's your pooch ye mean, that is." Dorothy nodded, so she continued. "you got a nasty knock for sure, girl, but you must be a very brave one, shielding him like ye did!"

Dorothy grinned at that, and would have said her thanks were it not for the sudden pain she felt as her nurse pressed into her abdomen. 

"AAAAAH!", She screeched, instinctively swatting at the lady's hand.

"Oh dear, ye have a few ribs cracked. Best bind them up a bit, then we'll work on that fever of yours." The lady padded quickly from the room and returned with a small jar of some unidentifiable dark objects, and some strips of fabric.

Dorothy winced in agony as the nurse made her sit up and almost screamed when she began wrapping her torso in the white cloth. The girl worked quickly and soon Dorothy was lying down once more, and had to admit to herself that she did, in fact feel better.

"Now dear, it's time for your fever treatment," the lady said, matter-of-factly, as she reached for the jar. "Now dear, hold still, it don't hurt near as bad when ye hold still."

"Hurt? Medicine?" Dorothy asked confusedly. "Why would medicine hur….." She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw what was inside the small jar, and fainted.

"Oh for the love of carrots, you'd think the child had never had fever treatment before." The nurse said to herself as she began applying the leeches to Dorothy's arms.

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Aunt Em was frantic.

"Dorothy! Dorothy!" She screamed, her voice hoarse and painful, for she'd been screaming for hours. Everyone in their small community, even Miss Gulch, had been roaming the countryside all day, looking for any sign of Dorothy.

Uncle Henry limped up to his wife on a crutch, his free arm encircling her protectively. "Dear, go have a lie down, the boys and I'll keep searching."

Em looked her husband in the eye, and knew immediately that Henry wasn't just suggesting she rest, he was telling her she would. She managed a weak smile at him, and, knowing he was right, made her way wearily back toward the house.

Henry was hobbling back toward the search party when he was approached by Daphne, a good friend of Dorothy's. There were tears in her green eyes and a patch of crimson on her temple, where she'd clearly been pulling at her hair.

"We ain't gonna find her, are we Mr Henry?" She cried in hiccuping sobs.

"I sure hope we do dear, I surely hope we do." He replied in a soft voice, holding the poor crying child to him. 

"She was sad, Mr Henry, so sad 'cause she wanted to find her friend." 

" I know," Henry answered. "She always spoke about him."

It hadn't surprised him that Dorothy had told Daphne about Oz, since it was just about all that she did speak of, despite the treatments Em had insisted would help her. Henry sighed dejectedly. He wondered to himself as he stood next to Daphne, who was also seemingly lost in thought, what exactly her "treatments" had been. He hoped that the next batch, due in September, would fix her up right, and get all the demonic thoughts of talking lions and scarecrows out of her head for good…

That is, He told himself sadly, if we ever find her….

Suddenly, Daphnes eyes shone with new revelation. 

" Just 'membered something Dorothy told me once! She said her friend lived somewhere's else, far and far away and that you had to ride a twister to get there! Maybe she's there you think? Cause if she is, why then she can just come right back like last time right?"

Henry looked down at her joyous face, and forced a small smile for her. Daffy, the other children called her, for she was dim and cockeyed, so much so that she seemed a youth, despite being thirty-two. But she was Dorothy's best and only friend, and he knew that the truth, the fact that Dorothy might be gone, would cause her more pain that even he or Em would feel. 

"I don't know, Daphne," He answered sympathetically, "But if we don't get to searching, we'll never know."

A smile lit up her small face and she was off, determined that Dorothy was going to come home any time now, and tell her lots of stories about her friends over the rainbow.

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Okay, more to come, I promise DON'T give up on me LOL I have a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 4 month old, and ..well… it's hard to find writing time :P 


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